Articles | Volume 11, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-101-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-101-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
16 Jan 2017
Research article |
| 16 Jan 2017
An assessment of two automated snow water equivalent instruments during the WMO Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, S7N 3H5, Canada
Anna Kontu
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Sodankylä, 99600, Finland
Richard Laffin
Campbell Scientific, Edmonton, T5L 4X4, Canada
John W. Pomeroy
Centre for Hydrology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, S7N 5C8, Canada
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Craig D. Smith, Eva Mekis, Megan Hartwell, and Amber Ross
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5253–5265, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5253-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5253-2022, 2022
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It is well understood that precipitation gauges underestimate the measurement of solid precipitation (snow) as a result of systematic bias caused by wind. Relationships between the wind speed and gauge catch efficiency of solid precipitation have been previously established and are applied to the hourly precipitation measurements made between 2001 and 2019 in the automated Environment and Climate Change Canada observation network. The adjusted data are available for download and use.
Craig D. Smith, Amber Ross, John Kochendorfer, Michael E. Earle, Mareile Wolff, Samuel Buisán, Yves-Alain Roulet, and Timo Laine
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4025–4043, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4025-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4025-2020, 2020
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During the World Meteorological Organization Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment (SPICE), transfer functions were developed to adjust automated gauge measurements of solid precipitation for systematic bias due to wind. The transfer functions were developed by combining data from eight sites, attempting to make them more universally applicable in a range of climates. This analysis is an assessment of the performance of those transfer functions, using data collected when SPICE ended.
Amber Ross, Craig D. Smith, and Alan Barr
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2979–2994, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2979-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2979-2020, 2020
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The raw data derived from most automated accumulating precipitation gauges often suffer from non-precipitation-related fluctuations in the measurement of the gauge bucket weights from which the precipitation amount is determined. This noise can be caused by electrical interference, mechanical noise, and evaporation. This paper presents an automated filtering technique that builds on the principle of iteratively balancing noise to produce a clean precipitation time series.
Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Amber Ross, and Alan Barr
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1337–1347, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1337-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1337-2019, 2019
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During and following the WMO Solid Precipitation Inter-Comparison Experiment (SPICE), winter (2013–2017) precipitation intercomparison data sets were collected at two test sites in Saskatchewan: Caribou Creek in the southern boreal forest and Bratt's Lake on the prairies. Precipitation was measured by the WMO automated reference and can be compared to measurements made by gauge configurations commonly used in Canada to examine issues with systematic bias.
John Kochendorfer, Rodica Nitu, Mareile Wolff, Eva Mekis, Roy Rasmussen, Bruce Baker, Michael E. Earle, Audrey Reverdin, Kai Wong, Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Yves-Alain Roulet, Tilden Meyers, Samuel Buisan, Ketil Isaksen, Ragnar Brækkan, Scott Landolt, and Al Jachcik
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1437–1452, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1437-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1437-2018, 2018
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Due to the effects of wind, precipitation gauges typically underestimate the amount of precipitation that occurs as snow. Measurements recorded during a World Meteorological Organization intercomparison of precipitation gauges were used to evaluate and improve the adjustments that are available to address this issue. Adjustments for specific types of precipitation gauges and wind shields were tested and recommended.
Craig D. Smith, Garth van der Kamp, Lauren Arnold, and Randy Schmidt
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5263–5272, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5263-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5263-2017, 2017
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This research provides an example of how groundwater pressures measured in deep observation wells can be used as a reliable estimate, and perhaps as a reference, for event-based precipitation. Changes in loading at the surface due to the weight of precipitation are transferred to the groundwater formation and can be measured in the observation well. Correlations in precipitation measurements made with the
geolysimeterand the co-located sheltered precipitation gauge are high.
John Kochendorfer, Rodica Nitu, Mareile Wolff, Eva Mekis, Roy Rasmussen, Bruce Baker, Michael E. Earle, Audrey Reverdin, Kai Wong, Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Yves-Alain Roulet, Samuel Buisan, Timo Laine, Gyuwon Lee, Jose Luis C. Aceituno, Javier Alastrué, Ketil Isaksen, Tilden Meyers, Ragnar Brækkan, Scott Landolt, Al Jachcik, and Antti Poikonen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3525–3542, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3525-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3525-2017, 2017
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Precipitation measurements were combined from eight separate precipitation testbeds to create multi-site transfer functions for the correction of unshielded and single-Alter-shielded precipitation gauge measurements. Site-specific errors and more universally applicable corrections were created from these WMO-SPICE measurements. The importance and magnitude of such wind speed corrections were demonstrated.
Samuel T. Buisán, Michael E. Earle, José Luís Collado, John Kochendorfer, Javier Alastrué, Mareile Wolff, Craig D. Smith, and Juan I. López-Moreno
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1079–1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1079-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1079-2017, 2017
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Within the framework of the WMO-SPICE (Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment) the Thies tipping bucket precipitation gauge, widely used at AEMET, was assessed against the SPICE reference.
Most countries use tipping buckets and for this reason the underestimation of snowfall precipitation is a large-scale problem.
The methodology presented here can be used by other national weather services to test precipitation bias corrections and to identify regions where errors are higher.
Kevin R. Shook, Paul H. Whitfield, Christopher Spence, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 5173–5192, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5173-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5173-2024, 2024
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Recent studies suggest that the velocities of water running off landscapes in the Canadian Prairies may be much smaller than generally assumed. Analyses of historical flows for 23 basins in central Alberta show that many of the rivers responded more slowly and that the flows are much slower than would be estimated from equations developed elsewhere. The effects of slow flow velocities on the development of hydrological models of the region are discussed, as are the possible causes.
Phillip Harder, Warren D. Helgason, and John W. Pomeroy
The Cryosphere, 18, 3277–3295, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3277-2024, 2024
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Remote sensing the amount of water in snow (SWE) at high spatial resolutions is an unresolved challenge. In this work, we tested a drone-mounted passive gamma spectrometer to quantify SWE. We found that the gamma observations could resolve the average and spatial variability of SWE down to 22.5 m resolutions. Further, by combining drone gamma SWE and lidar snow depth we could estimate SWE at sub-metre resolutions which is a new opportunity to improve the measurement of shallow snowpacks.
Wolfgang Knorr, Matthew Williams, Tea Thum, Thomas Kaminski, Michael Voßbeck, Marko Scholze, Tristan Quaife, Luke Smallmann, Susan Steele-Dunne, Mariette Vreugdenhil, Tim Green, Sönke Zähle, Mika Aurela, Alexandre Bouvet, Emanuel Bueechi, Wouter Dorigo, Tarek El-Madany, Mirco Migliavacca, Marika Honkanen, Yann Kerr, Anna Kontu, Juha Lemmetyinen, Hannakaisa Lindqvist, Arnaud Mialon, Tuuli Miinalainen, Gaetan Pique, Amanda Ojasalo, Shaun Quegan, Peter Rayner, Pablo Reyes-Muñoz, Nemesio Rodríguez-Fernández, Mike Schwank, Jochem Verrelst, Songyan Zhu, Dirk Schüttemeyer, and Matthias Drusch
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Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 28, 2785–2807, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2785-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-2785-2024, 2024
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André Bertoncini and John W. Pomeroy
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Rainfall and snowfall spatial estimation for hydrological purposes is often compromised in cold mountain regions due to inaccessibility, creating sparse gauge networks with few high-elevation gauges. This study developed a framework to quantify gauge network uncertainty, considering elevation to aid in future gauge placement in mountain regions. Results show that gauge placement above 2000 m was the most cost-effective measure to decrease gauge network uncertainty in the Canadian Rockies.
Zhihua He, Kevin Shook, Christopher Spence, John W. Pomeroy, and Colin Whitfield
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 3525–3546, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3525-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-3525-2023, 2023
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This study evaluated the impacts of climate change on snowmelt, soil moisture, and streamflow over the Canadian Prairies. The entire prairie region was divided into seven basin types. We found strong variations of hydrological sensitivity to precipitation and temperature changes in different land covers and basins, which suggests that different water management and adaptation methods are needed to address enhanced water stress due to expected climate change in different regions of the prairies.
Craig D. Smith, Eva Mekis, Megan Hartwell, and Amber Ross
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 5253–5265, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5253-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-5253-2022, 2022
Short summary
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It is well understood that precipitation gauges underestimate the measurement of solid precipitation (snow) as a result of systematic bias caused by wind. Relationships between the wind speed and gauge catch efficiency of solid precipitation have been previously established and are applied to the hourly precipitation measurements made between 2001 and 2019 in the automated Environment and Climate Change Canada observation network. The adjusted data are available for download and use.
Marcos R. C. Cordeiro, Kang Liang, Henry F. Wilson, Jason Vanrobaeys, David A. Lobb, Xing Fang, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5917–5931, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5917-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5917-2022, 2022
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This study addresses the issue of increasing interest in the hydrological impacts of converting cropland to perennial forage cover in the Canadian Prairies. By developing customized models using the Cold Regions Hydrological Modelling (CRHM) platform, this long-term (1992–2013) modelling study is expected to provide stakeholders with science-based information regarding the hydrological impacts of land use conversion from annual crop to perennial forage cover in the Canadian Prairies.
Christopher Spence, Zhihua He, Kevin R. Shook, John W. Pomeroy, Colin J. Whitfield, and Jared D. Wolfe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 5555–5575, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5555-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-5555-2022, 2022
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We learnt how streamflow from small creeks could be altered by wetland removal in the Canadian Prairies, where this practice is pervasive. Every creek basin in the region was placed into one of seven groups. We selected one of these groups and used its traits to simulate streamflow. The model worked well enough so that we could trust the results even if we removed the wetlands. Wetland removal did not change low flow amounts very much, but it doubled high flow and tripled average flow.
Juha Lemmetyinen, Juval Cohen, Anna Kontu, Juho Vehviläinen, Henna-Reetta Hannula, Ioanna Merkouriadi, Stefan Scheiblauer, Helmut Rott, Thomas Nagler, Elisabeth Ripper, Kelly Elder, Hans-Peter Marshall, Reinhard Fromm, Marc Adams, Chris Derksen, Joshua King, Adriano Meta, Alex Coccia, Nick Rutter, Melody Sandells, Giovanni Macelloni, Emanuele Santi, Marion Leduc-Leballeur, Richard Essery, Cecile Menard, and Michael Kern
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 3915–3945, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3915-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-3915-2022, 2022
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The manuscript describes airborne, dual-polarised X and Ku band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data collected over several campaigns over snow-covered terrain in Finland, Austria and Canada. Colocated snow and meteorological observations are also presented. The data are meant for science users interested in investigating X/Ku band radar signatures from natural environments in winter conditions.
Dhiraj Pradhananga and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 2605–2616, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2605-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-2605-2022, 2022
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This study considers the combined impacts of climate and glacier changes due to recession on the hydrology and water balance of two high-elevation glaciers. Peyto and Athabasca glacier basins in the Canadian Rockies have undergone continuous glacier loss over the last 3 to 5 decades, leading to an increase in ice exposure and changes to the elevation and slope of the glacier surfaces. Streamflow from these glaciers continues to increase more due to climate warming than glacier recession.
Christopher Spence, Zhihua He, Kevin R. Shook, Balew A. Mekonnen, John W. Pomeroy, Colin J. Whitfield, and Jared D. Wolfe
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1801–1819, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1801-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1801-2022, 2022
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We determined how snow and flow in small creeks change with temperature and precipitation in the Canadian Prairie, a region where water resources are often under stress. We tried something new. Every watershed in the region was placed in one of seven groups based on their landscape traits. We selected one of these groups and used its traits to build a model of snow and streamflow. It worked well, and by the 2040s there may be 20 %–40 % less snow and 30 % less streamflow than the 1980s.
Bin Cheng, Yubing Cheng, Timo Vihma, Anna Kontu, Fei Zheng, Juha Lemmetyinen, Yubao Qiu, and Jouni Pulliainen
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3967–3978, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3967-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3967-2021, 2021
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Climate change strongly impacts the Arctic, with clear signs of higher air temperature and more precipitation. A sustainable observation programme has been carried out in Lake Orajärvi in Sodankylä, Finland. The high-quality air–snow–ice–water temperature profiles have been measured every winter since 2009. The data can be used to investigate the lake ice surface heat balance and the role of snow in lake ice mass balance and parameterization of snow-to-ice transformation in snow/ice models.
Dhiraj Pradhananga, John W. Pomeroy, Caroline Aubry-Wake, D. Scott Munro, Joseph Shea, Michael N. Demuth, Nammy Hang Kirat, Brian Menounos, and Kriti Mukherjee
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 2875–2894, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2875-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-2875-2021, 2021
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This paper presents hydrological, meteorological, glaciological and geospatial data of Peyto Glacier Basin in the Canadian Rockies. They include high-resolution DEMs derived from air photos and lidar surveys and long-term hydrological and glaciological model forcing datasets derived from bias-corrected reanalysis products. These data are crucial for studying climate change and variability in the basin and understanding the hydrological responses of the basin to both glacier and climate change.
Paul H. Whitfield, Philip D. A. Kraaijenbrink, Kevin R. Shook, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2513–2541, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2513-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2513-2021, 2021
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Using only warm season streamflow records, regime and change classifications were produced for ~ 400 watersheds in the Nelson and Mackenzie River basins, and trends in water storage and vegetation were detected from satellite imagery. Three areas show consistent changes: north of 60° (increased streamflow and basin greenness), in the western Boreal Plains (decreased streamflow and basin greenness), and across the Prairies (three different patterns of increased streamflow and basin wetness).
Chris M. DeBeer, Howard S. Wheater, John W. Pomeroy, Alan G. Barr, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Jill F. Johnstone, Merritt R. Turetsky, Ronald E. Stewart, Masaki Hayashi, Garth van der Kamp, Shawn Marshall, Elizabeth Campbell, Philip Marsh, Sean K. Carey, William L. Quinton, Yanping Li, Saman Razavi, Aaron Berg, Jeffrey J. McDonnell, Christopher Spence, Warren D. Helgason, Andrew M. Ireson, T. Andrew Black, Mohamed Elshamy, Fuad Yassin, Bruce Davison, Allan Howard, Julie M. Thériault, Kevin Shook, Michael N. Demuth, and Alain Pietroniro
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 1849–1882, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1849-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-1849-2021, 2021
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This article examines future changes in land cover and hydrological cycling across the interior of western Canada under climate conditions projected for the 21st century. Key insights into the mechanisms and interactions of Earth system and hydrological process responses are presented, and this understanding is used together with model application to provide a synthesis of future change. This has allowed more scientifically informed projections than have hitherto been available.
Julie M. Thériault, Stephen J. Déry, John W. Pomeroy, Hilary M. Smith, Juris Almonte, André Bertoncini, Robert W. Crawford, Aurélie Desroches-Lapointe, Mathieu Lachapelle, Zen Mariani, Selina Mitchell, Jeremy E. Morris, Charlie Hébert-Pinard, Peter Rodriguez, and Hadleigh D. Thompson
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 1233–1249, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1233-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-1233-2021, 2021
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This article discusses the data that were collected during the Storms and Precipitation Across the continental Divide (SPADE) field campaign in spring 2019 in the Canadian Rockies, along the Alberta and British Columbia border. Various instruments were installed at five field sites to gather information about atmospheric conditions focussing on precipitation. Details about the field sites, the instrumentation used, the variables collected, and the collection methods and intervals are presented.
Terhikki Manninen, Kati Anttila, Emmihenna Jääskeläinen, Aku Riihelä, Jouni Peltoniemi, Petri Räisänen, Panu Lahtinen, Niilo Siljamo, Laura Thölix, Outi Meinander, Anna Kontu, Hanne Suokanerva, Roberta Pirazzini, Juha Suomalainen, Teemu Hakala, Sanna Kaasalainen, Harri Kaartinen, Antero Kukko, Olivier Hautecoeur, and Jean-Louis Roujean
The Cryosphere, 15, 793–820, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-793-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-793-2021, 2021
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The primary goal of this paper is to present a model of snow surface albedo (brightness) accounting for small-scale surface roughness effects. It can be combined with any volume scattering model. The results indicate that surface roughness may decrease the albedo by about 1–3 % in midwinter and even more than 10 % during the late melting season. The effect is largest for low solar zenith angle values and lower bulk snow albedo values.
Vincent Vionnet, Christopher B. Marsh, Brian Menounos, Simon Gascoin, Nicholas E. Wayand, Joseph Shea, Kriti Mukherjee, and John W. Pomeroy
The Cryosphere, 15, 743–769, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-743-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-743-2021, 2021
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Mountain snow cover provides critical supplies of fresh water to downstream users. Its accurate prediction requires inclusion of often-ignored processes. A multi-scale modelling strategy is presented that efficiently accounts for snow redistribution. Model accuracy is assessed via airborne lidar and optical satellite imagery. With redistribution the model captures the elevation–snow depth relation. Redistribution processes are required to reproduce spatial variability, such as around ridges.
Richard Essery, Hyungjun Kim, Libo Wang, Paul Bartlett, Aaron Boone, Claire Brutel-Vuilmet, Eleanor Burke, Matthias Cuntz, Bertrand Decharme, Emanuel Dutra, Xing Fang, Yeugeniy Gusev, Stefan Hagemann, Vanessa Haverd, Anna Kontu, Gerhard Krinner, Matthieu Lafaysse, Yves Lejeune, Thomas Marke, Danny Marks, Christoph Marty, Cecile B. Menard, Olga Nasonova, Tomoko Nitta, John Pomeroy, Gerd Schädler, Vladimir Semenov, Tatiana Smirnova, Sean Swenson, Dmitry Turkov, Nander Wever, and Hua Yuan
The Cryosphere, 14, 4687–4698, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4687-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-4687-2020, 2020
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Climate models are uncertain in predicting how warming changes snow cover. This paper compares 22 snow models with the same meteorological inputs. Predicted trends agree with observations at four snow research sites: winter snow cover does not start later, but snow now melts earlier in spring than in the 1980s at two of the sites. Cold regions where snow can last until late summer are predicted to be particularly sensitive to warming because the snow then melts faster at warmer times of year.
Nikolas O. Aksamit and John W. Pomeroy
The Cryosphere, 14, 2795–2807, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2795-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2795-2020, 2020
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In cold regions, it is increasingly important to quantify the amount of water stored as snow at the end of winter. Current models are inconsistent in their estimates of snow sublimation due to atmospheric turbulence. Specific wind structures have been identified that amplify potential rates of surface and blowing snow sublimation during blowing snow storms. The recurrence of these motions has been modeled by a simple scaling argument that has its foundation in turbulent boundary layer theory.
Craig D. Smith, Amber Ross, John Kochendorfer, Michael E. Earle, Mareile Wolff, Samuel Buisán, Yves-Alain Roulet, and Timo Laine
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 4025–4043, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4025-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-4025-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
During the World Meteorological Organization Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment (SPICE), transfer functions were developed to adjust automated gauge measurements of solid precipitation for systematic bias due to wind. The transfer functions were developed by combining data from eight sites, attempting to make them more universally applicable in a range of climates. This analysis is an assessment of the performance of those transfer functions, using data collected when SPICE ended.
Nicholas J. Kinar, John W. Pomeroy, and Bing Si
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 9, 293–315, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-293-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-9-293-2020, 2020
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Heat pulse probes are widely used to monitor soil thermal and physical properties for agricultural and hydrological monitoring related to crop productivity, drought, snowmelt, and evapotranspiration. Changes in the effective probe spacing distance can cause measurement inaccuracy. This paper uses a novel heat pulse probe and theory to compensate for changes in effective distance, thereby enabling more accurate sensor outputs useful for forecasts and predictions of drought and flooding.
Phillip Harder, John W. Pomeroy, and Warren D. Helgason
The Cryosphere, 14, 1919–1935, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1919-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1919-2020, 2020
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Unmanned-aerial-vehicle-based (UAV) structure-from-motion (SfM) techniques have the ability to map snow depths in open areas. Here UAV lidar and SfM are compared to map sub-canopy snowpacks. Snow depth accuracy was assessed with data from sites in western Canada collected in 2019. It is demonstrated that UAV lidar can measure the sub-canopy snow depth at a high accuracy, while UAV-SfM cannot. UAV lidar promises to quantify snow–vegetation interactions at unprecedented accuracy and resolution.
Amber Ross, Craig D. Smith, and Alan Barr
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2979–2994, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2979-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2979-2020, 2020
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The raw data derived from most automated accumulating precipitation gauges often suffer from non-precipitation-related fluctuations in the measurement of the gauge bucket weights from which the precipitation amount is determined. This noise can be caused by electrical interference, mechanical noise, and evaporation. This paper presents an automated filtering technique that builds on the principle of iteratively balancing noise to produce a clean precipitation time series.
Xing Fang and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2731–2754, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2731-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2731-2020, 2020
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High-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting model near-surface outputs from control and future periods were bias-corrected by downscaling outputs with respect to meteorological stations in Marmot Creek Research Basin, Canadian Rocky Mountains. A hydrological model simulation driven by the bias-corrected outputs showed declined seasonal peak snowpack, shorter snow-cover duration, higher evapotranspiration, and increased streamflow discharge in Marmot Creek for the warmer and wetter future.
Vincent Vionnet, Vincent Fortin, Etienne Gaborit, Guy Roy, Maria Abrahamowicz, Nicolas Gasset, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2141–2165, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2141-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-2141-2020, 2020
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The 2013 Alberta flood in Canada was typical of late-spring floods in mountain basins combining intense precipitation with rapid melting of late-lying snowpack. Hydrological simulations of this event are mainly influenced by (i) the spatial resolution of the atmospheric forcing due to the best estimate of precipitation at the kilometer scale and changes in turbulent fluxes contributing to snowmelt and (ii) uncertainties in initial snow conditions at high elevations. Soil texture has less impact.
Zilefac Elvis Asong, Mohamed Ezzat Elshamy, Daniel Princz, Howard Simon Wheater, John Willard Pomeroy, Alain Pietroniro, and Alex Cannon
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 629–645, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-629-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-629-2020, 2020
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This dataset provides an improved set of forcing data for large-scale hydrological models for climate change impact assessment in the Mackenzie River Basin (MRB). Here, the strengths of two historical datasets were blended to produce a less-biased long-record product for hydrological modelling and climate change impact assessment over the MRB. This product is then used to bias-correct climate projections from the Canadian Regional Climate Model under RCP8.5.
Christopher B. Marsh, John W. Pomeroy, and Howard S. Wheater
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 225–247, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-225-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-225-2020, 2020
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The Canadian Hydrological Model (CHM) is a next-generation distributed model. Although designed to be applied generally, it has a focus for application where cold-region processes, such as snowpacks, play a role in hydrology. A key feature is that it uses a multi-scale surface representation, increasing efficiency. It also enables algorithm comparisons in a flexible structure. Model philosophy, design, and several cold-region-specific examples are described.
Paul H. Whitfield, Philip D. A. Kraaijenbrink, Kevin R. Shook, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-671, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-671, 2020
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Using partial year streamflow records a regime and change classification were produced for ~ 400 watersheds in the Saskatchewan and Mackenzie River basins, and trends in water storage and vegetation were detected from satellite imagery. Three areas show consistent changes; north of 60° [increased streamflow and basin greenness], in the western Boreal Plains [decreased streamflow and basin greenness], and across the Prairies [three different patterns of increased streamflow and basin wetness].
Silvan Leinss, Henning Löwe, Martin Proksch, and Anna Kontu
The Cryosphere, 14, 51–75, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-51-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-51-2020, 2020
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The anisotropy of the snow microstructure, given by horizontally aligned ice crystals and vertically interlinked crystal chains, is a key quantity to understand mechanical, dielectric, and thermodynamical properties of snow. We present a model which describes the temporal evolution of the anisotropy. The model is driven by snow temperature, temperature gradient, and the strain rate. The model is calibrated by polarimetric radar data (CPD) and validated by computer tomographic 3-D snow images.
Michael Schirmer and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 143–157, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-143-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-143-2020, 2020
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The spatial distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) and melt are important for hydrological applications in alpine terrain. We measured the spatial distribution of melt using a drone in very high resolution and could relate melt to topographic characteristics. Interestingly, melt and SWE were not related spatially, which influences the speed of areal melt out. We could explain this by melt varying over larger distances than SWE.
Kabir Rasouli, John W. Pomeroy, and Paul H. Whitfield
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4933–4954, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4933-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4933-2019, 2019
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The combined effects of changes in climate, vegetation, and soils on mountain hydrology were modeled in three mountain basins. In the Yukon, an insignificant increasing effect of vegetation change on snow was found to be important enough to offset the climate change effect. In the Canadian Rockies, a combined effect of soil and climate change on runoff became significant, whereas their individual effects were not significant. Only vegetation change decreased runoff in the basin in Idaho.
Robert N. Armstrong, John W. Pomeroy, and Lawrence W. Martz
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4891–4907, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4891-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4891-2019, 2019
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Digital and thermal images taken near midday were used to scale daily point observations of key factors driving actual-evaporation estimates across a complex Canadian Prairie landscape. Point estimates of actual evaporation agreed well with observed values via eddy covariance. Impacts of spatial variations on areal estimates were minor, and no covariance was found between model parameters driving the energy term. The methods can be applied further to improve land surface parameterisations.
Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Amber Ross, and Alan Barr
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1337–1347, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1337-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1337-2019, 2019
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During and following the WMO Solid Precipitation Inter-Comparison Experiment (SPICE), winter (2013–2017) precipitation intercomparison data sets were collected at two test sites in Saskatchewan: Caribou Creek in the southern boreal forest and Bratt's Lake on the prairies. Precipitation was measured by the WMO automated reference and can be compared to measurements made by gauge configurations commonly used in Canada to examine issues with systematic bias.
Zilefac Elvis Asong, Mohamed Elshamy, Daniel Princz, Howard Wheater, John Pomeroy, Alain Pietroniro, and Alex Cannon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-249, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-249, 2019
Publication in HESS not foreseen
Cécile B. Ménard, Richard Essery, Alan Barr, Paul Bartlett, Jeff Derry, Marie Dumont, Charles Fierz, Hyungjun Kim, Anna Kontu, Yves Lejeune, Danny Marks, Masashi Niwano, Mark Raleigh, Libo Wang, and Nander Wever
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 865–880, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-865-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-865-2019, 2019
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This paper describes long-term meteorological and evaluation datasets from 10 reference sites for use in snow modelling. We demonstrate how data sharing is crucial to the identification of errors and how the publication of these datasets contributes to good practice, consistency, and reproducibility in geosciences. The ease of use, availability, and quality of the datasets will help model developers quantify and reduce model uncertainties and errors.
Xing Fang, John W. Pomeroy, Chris M. DeBeer, Phillip Harder, and Evan Siemens
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 455–471, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-455-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-455-2019, 2019
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Meteorological, snow survey, streamflow, and groundwater data are presented from Marmot Creek Research Basin, a small alpine-montane forest headwater catchment in the Alberta Rockies. It was heavily instrumented, experimented upon, and operated by several federal government agencies between 1962 and 1986 and was re-established starting in 2004 by the University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology. These long-term legacy data serve to advance our knowledge of hydrology of the Canadian Rockies.
Kabir Rasouli, John W. Pomeroy, J. Richard Janowicz, Tyler J. Williams, and Sean K. Carey
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 89–100, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-89-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-89-2019, 2019
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A set of hydrometeorological data including daily precipitation, hourly air temperature, humidity, wind, solar and net radiation, soil temperature, soil moisture, snow depth and snow water equivalent, streamflow and water level in a groundwater well, and geographical information system data are presented in this paper. This dataset was recorded at different elevation bands in Wolf Creek Research Basin, near Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.
Phillip Harder, John W. Pomeroy, and Warren D. Helgason
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1–17, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-1-2019, 2019
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As snow cover becomes patchy during snowmelt, energy is advected from warm snow-free surfaces to cold snow-covered surfaces. This paper proposes a simple sensible and latent heat advection model for snowmelt situations that can be coupled to one-dimensional energy balance snowmelt models. The model demonstrates that sensible and latent heat advection fluxes can compensate for one another, especially in early melt periods.
Gerhard Krinner, Chris Derksen, Richard Essery, Mark Flanner, Stefan Hagemann, Martyn Clark, Alex Hall, Helmut Rott, Claire Brutel-Vuilmet, Hyungjun Kim, Cécile B. Ménard, Lawrence Mudryk, Chad Thackeray, Libo Wang, Gabriele Arduini, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Paul Bartlett, Julia Boike, Aaron Boone, Frédérique Chéruy, Jeanne Colin, Matthias Cuntz, Yongjiu Dai, Bertrand Decharme, Jeff Derry, Agnès Ducharne, Emanuel Dutra, Xing Fang, Charles Fierz, Josephine Ghattas, Yeugeniy Gusev, Vanessa Haverd, Anna Kontu, Matthieu Lafaysse, Rachel Law, Dave Lawrence, Weiping Li, Thomas Marke, Danny Marks, Martin Ménégoz, Olga Nasonova, Tomoko Nitta, Masashi Niwano, John Pomeroy, Mark S. Raleigh, Gerd Schaedler, Vladimir Semenov, Tanya G. Smirnova, Tobias Stacke, Ulrich Strasser, Sean Svenson, Dmitry Turkov, Tao Wang, Nander Wever, Hua Yuan, Wenyan Zhou, and Dan Zhu
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 5027–5049, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-5027-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-5027-2018, 2018
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This paper provides an overview of a coordinated international experiment to determine the strengths and weaknesses in how climate models treat snow. The models will be assessed at point locations using high-quality reference measurements and globally using satellite-derived datasets. How well climate models simulate snow-related processes is important because changing snow cover is an important part of the global climate system and provides an important freshwater resource for human use.
Zilefac Elvis Asong, Howard Simon Wheater, John Willard Pomeroy, Alain Pietroniro, Mohamed Ezzat Elshamy, Daniel Princz, and Alex Cannon
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2018-128, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2018-128, 2018
Preprint withdrawn
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Cold regions hydrology is very sensitive to the impacts of climate warming. We need better hydrological models driven by reliable climate data in order to assess hydrologic responses to climate change. Cold regions often have sparse surface observations, particularly at high elevations that generate a major amount of runoff. We produce a long-term dataset that can be used to better understand and represent the seasonal/inter-annual variability of hydrological fluxes and the the timing of runoff.
Julie M. Thériault, Ida Hung, Paul Vaquer, Ronald E. Stewart, and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4491–4512, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4491-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4491-2018, 2018
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Precipitation events associated with rain and snow on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, Canada, are a critical aspect of the regional water cycle. The goal is to characterize the precipitation and weather conditions in the Kananaskis Valley, Alberta, during a field experiment. Mainly dense solid precipitation reached the surface and occurred during downslope and upslope conditions. The precipitation phase has critical implications on the severity of flooding events in the area.
Sebastian A. Krogh and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3993–4014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3993-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3993-2018, 2018
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The Arctic has warmed and vegetation has expanded; however, impacts on hydrology are poorly understood. This study used observed meteorology from the last 56 years and changes in vegetation to simulate the water cycle of an Arctic headwater basin. Several changes were found: decreased snow cover duration, deeper permafrost and earlier peak flows. Most changes are from climate change; however, vegetation impacts blowing snow, partially compensating the impact of climate change on streamflow.
Jonas Svensson, Johan Ström, Niku Kivekäs, Nathaniel B. Dkhar, Shresth Tayal, Ved P. Sharma, Arttu Jutila, John Backman, Aki Virkkula, Meri Ruppel, Antti Hyvärinen, Anna Kontu, Henna-Reetta Hannula, Matti Leppäranta, Rakesh K. Hooda, Atte Korhola, Eija Asmi, and Heikki Lihavainen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1403–1416, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1403-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1403-2018, 2018
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Receding glaciers in the Himalayas are of concern. Here we present measurements of light-absorbing impurities, known to contribute to the ongoing glacier decrease, in snow from Indian Himalayas and compare them to snow samples from the Finnish Arctic. The soot particles in the snow are shown to have lower light absorbing efficiency, possibly affecting their radiative forcing potential in the snow. Further, dust influences the snow in the Himalayas to a much greater extent than in Finland.
John Kochendorfer, Rodica Nitu, Mareile Wolff, Eva Mekis, Roy Rasmussen, Bruce Baker, Michael E. Earle, Audrey Reverdin, Kai Wong, Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Yves-Alain Roulet, Tilden Meyers, Samuel Buisan, Ketil Isaksen, Ragnar Brækkan, Scott Landolt, and Al Jachcik
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1437–1452, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1437-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-1437-2018, 2018
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Due to the effects of wind, precipitation gauges typically underestimate the amount of precipitation that occurs as snow. Measurements recorded during a World Meteorological Organization intercomparison of precipitation gauges were used to evaluate and improve the adjustments that are available to address this issue. Adjustments for specific types of precipitation gauges and wind shields were tested and recommended.
Craig D. Smith, Garth van der Kamp, Lauren Arnold, and Randy Schmidt
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5263–5272, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5263-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5263-2017, 2017
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This research provides an example of how groundwater pressures measured in deep observation wells can be used as a reliable estimate, and perhaps as a reference, for event-based precipitation. Changes in loading at the surface due to the weight of precipitation are transferred to the groundwater formation and can be measured in the observation well. Correlations in precipitation measurements made with the
geolysimeterand the co-located sheltered precipitation gauge are high.
John Kochendorfer, Rodica Nitu, Mareile Wolff, Eva Mekis, Roy Rasmussen, Bruce Baker, Michael E. Earle, Audrey Reverdin, Kai Wong, Craig D. Smith, Daqing Yang, Yves-Alain Roulet, Samuel Buisan, Timo Laine, Gyuwon Lee, Jose Luis C. Aceituno, Javier Alastrué, Ketil Isaksen, Tilden Meyers, Ragnar Brækkan, Scott Landolt, Al Jachcik, and Antti Poikonen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3525–3542, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3525-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3525-2017, 2017
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Precipitation measurements were combined from eight separate precipitation testbeds to create multi-site transfer functions for the correction of unshielded and single-Alter-shielded precipitation gauge measurements. Site-specific errors and more universally applicable corrections were created from these WMO-SPICE measurements. The importance and magnitude of such wind speed corrections were demonstrated.
Marcos R. C. Cordeiro, Henry F. Wilson, Jason Vanrobaeys, John W. Pomeroy, Xing Fang, and The Red-Assiniboine Project Biophysical Modelling Team
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 3483–3506, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3483-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-3483-2017, 2017
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The physically based Cold Regions Hydrological Model (CRHM) was utilized to simulate runoff in the La Salle River, located in the northern Great Plains with flat topography, clay soils, and surface drainage. Snow sublimation and transport as well as infiltration to frozen soils were identified as critical in defining snowmelt. Challenges in representing infiltration into frozen but dry clay soils and flow routing under both dry and flooded conditions indicate the need for further study.
Samuel T. Buisán, Michael E. Earle, José Luís Collado, John Kochendorfer, Javier Alastrué, Mareile Wolff, Craig D. Smith, and Juan I. López-Moreno
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1079–1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1079-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1079-2017, 2017
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Within the framework of the WMO-SPICE (Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment) the Thies tipping bucket precipitation gauge, widely used at AEMET, was assessed against the SPICE reference.
Most countries use tipping buckets and for this reason the underestimation of snowfall precipitation is a large-scale problem.
The methodology presented here can be used by other national weather services to test precipitation bias corrections and to identify regions where errors are higher.
Nikolas O. Aksamit and John W. Pomeroy
The Cryosphere, 10, 3043–3062, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-3043-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-3043-2016, 2016
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The first implementation of particle tracking velocimetry in outdoor alpine blowing snow has both provided new insight on intermittent snow particle transport initiation and entrainment in the dense near-surface "creep" layer whilst also confirming some wind tunnel observations. Environmental PTV has shown to be a viable avenue for furthering our understanding of the coupling of the atmospheric boundary layer turbulence and blowing snow transport.
Phillip Harder, Michael Schirmer, John Pomeroy, and Warren Helgason
The Cryosphere, 10, 2559–2571, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2559-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2559-2016, 2016
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This paper assesses the accuracy of high-resolution snow depth maps generated from unmanned aerial vehicle imagery. Snow depth maps are generated from differencing snow-covered and snow-free digital surface models produced from structure from motion techniques. On average, the estimated snow depth error was 10 cm. This technique is therefore useful for observing snow accumulation and melt in deep snow but is restricted to observing peak snow accumulation in shallow snow.
Xicai Pan, Daqing Yang, Yanping Li, Alan Barr, Warren Helgason, Masaki Hayashi, Philip Marsh, John Pomeroy, and Richard J. Janowicz
The Cryosphere, 10, 2347–2360, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2347-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2347-2016, 2016
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This study demonstrates a robust procedure for accumulating precipitation gauge measurements and provides an analysis of bias corrections of precipitation measurements across experimental sites in different ecoclimatic regions of western Canada. It highlights the need for and importance of precipitation bias corrections at both research sites and operational networks for water balance assessment and the validation of global/regional climate–hydrology models.
Juha Lemmetyinen, Anna Kontu, Jouni Pulliainen, Juho Vehviläinen, Kimmo Rautiainen, Andreas Wiesmann, Christian Mätzler, Charles Werner, Helmut Rott, Thomas Nagler, Martin Schneebeli, Martin Proksch, Dirk Schüttemeyer, Michael Kern, and Malcolm W. J. Davidson
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 403–415, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-403-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-403-2016, 2016
Henna-Reetta Hannula, Juha Lemmetyinen, Anna Kontu, Chris Derksen, and Jouni Pulliainen
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 347–363, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-347-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-347-2016, 2016
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The paper described an extensive in situ data set of bulk snow depth, snow water equivalent, and snow density collected as a support of SnowSAR-2 airborne campaign in northern Finland. The spatial and temporal variability of these snow properties was analyzed in different land cover types. The success of the chosen measurement protocol to provide an accurate reference for the simultaneous SAR data products was analyzed in the context of spatial scale, sample size, and uncertainty.
Kaisa Lakkala, Hanne Suokanerva, Juha Matti Karhu, Antti Aarva, Antti Poikonen, Tomi Karppinen, Markku Ahponen, Henna-Reetta Hannula, Anna Kontu, and Esko Kyrö
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 315–320, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-315-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-315-2016, 2016
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This paper describes the laboratory facilities at the Finnish Meteorological Institute – Arctic Research Centre (FMI-ARC). They comprise an optical laboratory, a facility for biological studies, and an office. The facilities are ideal for responding to the needs of international multidisciplinary research, giving the possibility to calibrate and characterize the research instruments as well as handle and store samples.
Richard Essery, Anna Kontu, Juha Lemmetyinen, Marie Dumont, and Cécile B. Ménard
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 219–227, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-219-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-219-2016, 2016
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Physically based models that predict the properties of snow on the ground are used in many applications, but meteorological input data required by these models are hard to obtain in cold regions. Monitoring at the Sodankyla research station allows construction of model input and evaluation datasets covering several years for the first time in the Arctic. The data are used to show that a sophisticated snow model developed for warmer and wetter sites can perform well in very different conditions.
Leena Leppänen, Anna Kontu, Henna-Reetta Hannula, Heidi Sjöblom, and Jouni Pulliainen
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 163–179, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-163-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-163-2016, 2016
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The manual snow survey program of Finnish Meteorological Institute consists of numerous observations of natural seasonal snowpack in Sodankylä, in northern Finland. Systematic snow measurements began in 1911 with snow depth and snow water equivalent. In 2006 the manual snow survey program expanded to cover snow macro- and microstructure from snow pits. Extensive time series of manual snow measurements are important for the monitoring of temporal and spatial changes in seasonal snowpack.
William Maslanka, Leena Leppänen, Anna Kontu, Mel Sandells, Juha Lemmetyinen, Martin Schneebeli, Martin Proksch, Margret Matzl, Henna-Reetta Hannula, and Robert Gurney
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst., 5, 85–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-85-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-5-85-2016, 2016
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The paper presents the initial findings of the Arctic Snow Microstructure Experiment in Sodankylä, Finland. The experiment observed the microwave emission of extracted snow slabs on absorbing and reflecting bases. Snow parameters were recorded to simulate the emission upon those bases using two different emission models. The smallest simulation errors were associated with the absorbing base at vertical polarization. The observations will be used for the development of snow emission modelling.
Nicolas R. Leroux and John W. Pomeroy
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-55, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-2016-55, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Snowmelt runoff reaches our rivers and is critical for water management and consumption in cold regions. Preferential flow paths form while snow is melting and accelerate the timing at which meltwater reaches the base of the snowpack and has great impact on basin hydrology. A novel 2D numerical model that simulates water and heat fluxes through a melting snowpack is presented. Its ability to simulate formation and flow through preferential flow paths and impacts on snowmelt runoff are discussed.
O. Meinander, A. Aarva, A. Poikonen, A. Kontu, H. Suokanerva, E. Asmi, K. Neitola, E. Rodriguez, R. Sanchez, M. Mei, G. de Leeuw, and E. Kyrö
Geosci. Instrum. Method. Data Syst. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-2015-31, https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-2015-31, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
J. Svensson, A. Virkkula, O. Meinander, N. Kivekäs, H.-R. Hannula, O. Järvinen, J. I. Peltoniemi, M. Gritsevich, A. Heikkilä, A. Kontu, A.-P. Hyvärinen, K. Neitola, D. Brus, P. Dagsson-Waldhauserova, K. Anttila, T. Hakala, H. Kaartinen, M. Vehkamäki, G. de Leeuw, and H. Lihavainen
The Cryosphere Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-9-1227-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/tcd-9-1227-2015, 2015
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Soot's (including black carbon and organics) negative effect on a natural snow pack is experimentally addressed in this paper through a series of experiments. Soot concentrations in the snow in the range of 200-200 000 ppb verify the negative effects on the albedo, the physical snow characteristics, as well as increasing the melt rate of the snow pack. Our experimental data generally agrees when compared with the Snow, Ice and Aerosol Radiation model.
C. B. Ménard, R. Essery, and J. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 2375–2392, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2375-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-2375-2014, 2014
O. Meinander, A. Kontu, A. Virkkula, A. Arola, L. Backman, P. Dagsson-Waldhauserová, O. Järvinen, T. Manninen, J. Svensson, G. de Leeuw, and M. Leppäranta
The Cryosphere, 8, 991–995, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-991-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-991-2014, 2014
X. Fang, J. W. Pomeroy, C. R. Ellis, M. K. MacDonald, C. M. DeBeer, and T. Brown
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1635–1659, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1635-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1635-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Instrumentation
Brief communication: RADIX (Rapid Access Drilling and Ice eXtraction) dust logger test in the EastGRIP (East Greenland Ice-core Project) hole
Layer-optimized synthetic aperture radar processing with a mobile phase-sensitive radar: a proof of concept for detecting the deep englacial stratigraphy of Colle Gnifetti, Switzerland and Italy
Measuring prairie snow water equivalent with combined UAV-borne gamma spectrometry and lidar
Brief communication: Testing a portable Bullard-type temperature lance confirms highly spatially heterogeneous sediment temperatures under shallow bodies of water in the Arctic
A cold laboratory hyperspectral imaging system to map grain size and ice layer distributions in firn cores
Non-destructive multi-sensor core logging allows for rapid imaging and estimation of frozen bulk density and volumetric ice content in permafrost cores
Brief communication: A technique for making in situ measurements at the ice–water boundary of small pieces of floating glacier ice
A random forest approach to quality-checking automatic snow-depth sensor measurements
Array processing in cryoseismology: a comparison to network-based approaches at an Antarctic ice stream
Brief communication: Comparison of the performance of thermistors and digital temperature sensors in a mountain permafrost borehole
Brief communication: Comparison of in situ ephemeral snow depth measurements over a mixed-use temperate forest landscape
Monitoring snow water equivalent using the phase of RFID signals
Mapping snow depth on Canadian sub-arctic lakes using ground-penetrating radar
Spatial characterization of near-surface structure and meltwater runoff conditions across the Devon Ice Cap from dual-frequency radar reflectivity
Brief communication: Monitoring active layer dynamics using a lightweight nimble ground-penetrating radar system – a laboratory analogue test case
Progress of the RADIX (Rapid Access Drilling and Ice eXtraction) fast-access drilling system
Brief communication: New sonde to unravel the mystery of polar subglacial lakes
Topology and spatial-pressure-distribution reconstruction of an englacial channel
Brief communication: Unravelling the composition and microstructure of a permafrost core using X-ray computed tomography
Comparison of manual snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements: seeking the reference for a true SWE value in a boreal biome
Brief communication: Application of a muonic cosmic ray snow gauge to monitor the snow water equivalent on alpine glaciers
A distributed temperature profiling system for vertically and laterally dense acquisition of soil and snow temperature
GNSS signal-based snow water equivalent determination for different snowpack conditions along a steep elevation gradient
Snow water equivalent measurement in the Arctic based on cosmic ray neutron attenuation
Review article: Performance assessment of radiation-based field sensors for monitoring the water equivalent of snow cover (SWE)
Development of a diffuse reflectance probe for in situ measurement of inherent optical properties in sea ice
Spectral albedo measurements over snow-covered slopes: theory and slope effect corrections
Ground subsidence and heave over permafrost: hourly time series reveal interannual, seasonal and shorter-term movement caused by freezing, thawing and water movement
Pressure and inertia sensing drifters for glacial hydrology flow path measurements
Continuous and autonomous snow water equivalent measurements by a cosmic ray sensor on an alpine glacier
Monitoring of snow surface near-infrared bidirectional reflectance factors with added light-absorbing particles
High-accuracy UAV photogrammetry of ice sheet dynamics with no ground control
An assessment of sub-snow GPS for quantification of snow water equivalent
Autonomous ice sheet surface mass balance measurements from cosmic rays
Design of a scanning laser meter for monitoring the spatio-temporal evolution of snow depth and its application in the Alps and in Antarctica
Intercomparison of snow density measurements: bias, precision, and vertical resolution
Use of a thermal imager for snow pit temperatures
Brief communication "Application of mobile laser scanning in snow cover profiling"
Jakob Schwander, Thomas F. Stocker, Remo Walther, Samuel Marending, Tobias Erhardt, Chantal Zeppenfeld, and Jürg Jost
The Cryosphere, 18, 5613–5617, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5613-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5613-2024, 2024
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The RADIX (Rapid Access Drilling and Ice eXtraction) optical dust logger is part of the exploratory 20 mm drilling system at the University of Bern and is inserted into the hole after drilling. Temperature and attitude sensors were successfully tested but not the dust sensor, as no RADIX hole reached the required bubble-free ice. In 2023, we tested the logger with an adapter for the deep borehole of the East Greenland Ice-core Project and obtained a good Late Glacial–Early Holocene dust record.
Falk M. Oraschewski, Inka Koch, M. Reza Ershadi, Jonathan D. Hawkins, Olaf Eisen, and Reinhard Drews
The Cryosphere, 18, 3875–3889, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3875-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3875-2024, 2024
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Mountain glaciers have a layered structure which contains information about past snow accumulation and ice flow. Using ground-penetrating radar instruments, the internal structure can be observed. The detection of layers in the deeper parts of a glacier is often difficult. Here, we present a new approach for imaging the englacial structure of an Alpine glacier (Colle Gnifetti, Switzerland and Italy) using a phase-sensitive radar that can detect reflection depth changes at sub-wavelength scales.
Phillip Harder, Warren D. Helgason, and John W. Pomeroy
The Cryosphere, 18, 3277–3295, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3277-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3277-2024, 2024
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Remote sensing the amount of water in snow (SWE) at high spatial resolutions is an unresolved challenge. In this work, we tested a drone-mounted passive gamma spectrometer to quantify SWE. We found that the gamma observations could resolve the average and spatial variability of SWE down to 22.5 m resolutions. Further, by combining drone gamma SWE and lidar snow depth we could estimate SWE at sub-metre resolutions which is a new opportunity to improve the measurement of shallow snowpacks.
Frederieke Miesner, William Lambert Cable, Pier Paul Overduin, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 18, 2603–2611, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2603-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2603-2024, 2024
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The temperature in the sediment below Arctic lakes determines the stability of the permafrost and microbial activity. However, measurements are scarce because of the remoteness. We present a robust and portable device to fill this gap. Test campaigns have demonstrated its utility in a range of environments during winter and summer. The measured temperatures show a great variability within and across locations. The data can be used to validate models and estimate potential emissions.
Ian E. McDowell, Kaitlin M. Keegan, S. McKenzie Skiles, Christopher P. Donahue, Erich C. Osterberg, Robert L. Hawley, and Hans-Peter Marshall
The Cryosphere, 18, 1925–1946, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1925-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-1925-2024, 2024
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Accurate knowledge of firn grain size is crucial for many ice sheet research applications. Unfortunately, collecting detailed measurements of firn grain size is difficult. We demonstrate that scanning firn cores with a near-infrared imager can quickly produce high-resolution maps of both grain size and ice layer distributions. We map grain size and ice layer stratigraphy in 14 firn cores from Greenland and document changes to grain size and ice layer content from the extreme melt summer of 2012.
Joel Pumple, Alistair Monteath, Jordan Harvey, Mahya Roustaei, Alejandro Alvarez, Casey Buchanan, and Duane Froese
The Cryosphere, 18, 489–503, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-489-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-489-2024, 2024
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Ice content is a critical variable in the context of thawing permafrost, and permafrost cores provide a means to measure the characteristics of frozen ground; however, these measurements are typically destructive and time intensive. Multi-sensor core logging (MSCL) provides a fast, non-destructive method to image permafrost cores, measure bulk density, and estimate ice content. The use of MSCL will improve existing digital permafrost archives by adding high-quality and reproducible data.
Hayden A. Johnson, Oskar Glowacki, Grant B. Deane, and M. Dale Stokes
The Cryosphere, 18, 265–272, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-265-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-265-2024, 2024
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This paper is about a way to make measurements close to small pieces of floating glacier ice. This is done by attaching instruments to the ice from a small boat. Making these measurements will be helpful for the study of the physics that goes on at small scales when glacier ice is in contact with ocean water. Understanding these small-scale physics may ultimately help improve our understanding of how much ice in Greenland and Antarctica will melt as a result of warming oceans.
Giulia Blandini, Francesco Avanzi, Simone Gabellani, Denise Ponziani, Hervé Stevenin, Sara Ratto, Luca Ferraris, and Alberto Viglione
The Cryosphere, 17, 5317–5333, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5317-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5317-2023, 2023
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Automatic snow depth data are a valuable source of information for hydrologists, but they also tend to be noisy. To maximize the value of these measurements for real-world applications, we developed an automatic procedure to differentiate snow cover from grass or bare ground data, as well as to detect random errors. This procedure can enhance snow data quality, thus providing more reliable data for snow models.
Thomas Samuel Hudson, Alex M. Brisbourne, Sofia-Katerina Kufner, J.-Michael Kendall, and Andy M. Smith
The Cryosphere, 17, 4979–4993, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4979-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4979-2023, 2023
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Earthquakes (or icequakes) at glaciers can shed light on fundamental glacier processes. These include glacier slip, crevassing, and imaging ice structure. To date, most studies use networks of seismometers, primarily sensitive to icequakes within the spatial extent of the network. However, arrays of seismometers allow us to detect icequakes at far greater distances. Here, we investigate the potential of such array-processing methods for studying icequakes at glaciers.
Lars Widmer, Marcia Phillips, and Chasper Buchli
The Cryosphere, 17, 4289–4295, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4289-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4289-2023, 2023
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Long-term temperature measurements are challenging to carry out in mountain-permafrost boreholes. The widely used resistance thermistors are highly accurate but prone to drift when they are exposed to moisture, or the cable connecting them is stretched. We explore the possibility of supplementing them with digital sensors and analyse the performance of both systems at 15 depths in the same mountain-permafrost borehole.
Holly Proulx, Jennifer M. Jacobs, Elizabeth A. Burakowski, Eunsang Cho, Adam G. Hunsaker, Franklin B. Sullivan, Michael Palace, and Cameron Wagner
The Cryosphere, 17, 3435–3442, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3435-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3435-2023, 2023
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This study compares snow depth measurements from two manual instruments in a field and forest. Snow depths measured using a magnaprobe were typically 1 to 3 cm deeper than those measured using a snow tube. These differences were greater in the forest than in the field.
Mathieu Le Breton, Éric Larose, Laurent Baillet, Yves Lejeune, and Alec van Herwijnen
The Cryosphere, 17, 3137–3156, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3137-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3137-2023, 2023
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We monitor the amount of snow on the ground using passive radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags. These small and inexpensive tags are wirelessly read by a stationary reader placed above the snowpack. Variations in the radiofrequency phase delay accurately reflect variations in snow amount, known as snow water equivalent. Additionally, each tag is equipped with a sensor that monitors the snow temperature.
Alicia F. Pouw, Homa Kheyrollah Pour, and Alex MacLean
The Cryosphere, 17, 2367–2385, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2367-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-2367-2023, 2023
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Collecting spatial lake snow depth data is essential for improving lake ice models. Lake ice growth is directly affected by snow on the lake. However, snow on lake ice is highly influenced by wind redistribution, making it important but challenging to measure accurately in a fast and efficient way. This study utilizes ground-penetrating radar on lakes in Canada's sub-arctic to capture spatial lake snow depth and shows success within 10 % error when compared to manual snow depth measurements.
Kristian Chan, Cyril Grima, Anja Rutishauser, Duncan A. Young, Riley Culberg, and Donald D. Blankenship
The Cryosphere, 17, 1839–1852, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1839-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1839-2023, 2023
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Climate warming has led to more surface meltwater produced on glaciers that can refreeze in firn to form ice layers. Our work evaluates the use of dual-frequency ice-penetrating radar to characterize these ice layers on the Devon Ice Cap. Results indicate that they are meters thick and widespread, and thus capable of supporting lateral meltwater runoff from the top of ice layers. We find that some of this meltwater runoff could be routed through supraglacial rivers in the ablation zone.
Emmanuel Léger, Albane Saintenoy, Mohammed Serhir, François Costard, and Christophe Grenier
The Cryosphere, 17, 1271–1277, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1271-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1271-2023, 2023
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This study presents the laboratory test of a low-cost ground-penetrating radar (GPR) system within a laboratory experiment of active layer freezing and thawing monitoring. The system is an in-house-built low-power monostatic GPR antenna coupled with a reflectometer piloted by a single-board computer and was tested prior to field deployment.
Jakob Schwander, Thomas F. Stocker, Remo Walther, and Samuel Marending
The Cryosphere, 17, 1151–1164, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1151-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1151-2023, 2023
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RADIX (Rapid Access Drilling and Ice eXtraction) is a fast-access ice-drilling system for prospecting future deep-drilling sites on glaciers and polar ice sheets. It consists of a 40 mm rapid firn drill, a 20 mm deep drill and a logger. The maximum depth range of RADIX is 3100 m by design. The nominal drilling speed is on the order of 40 m h-1. The 15 mm diameter logger provides data on the hole inclination and direction and measures temperature and dust in the ice surrounding the borehole.
Youhong Sun, Bing Li, Xiaopeng Fan, Yuansheng Li, Guopin Li, Haibin Yu, Hongzhi Li, Dongliang Wang, Nan Zhang, Da Gong, Rusheng Wang, Yazhou Li, and Pavel G. Talalay
The Cryosphere, 17, 1089–1095, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1089-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1089-2023, 2023
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The discovery of polar subglacial lakes, rivers and streams has opened a new frontier of science within a short span. We present a new environmentally friendly approach to study subglacial reservoirs based on the concept of freezing-in instrumented probes carrying a tethering power-signal cable. In January 2022, the probe was successfully tested in East Antarctica: it reached the base of the ice sheet and returned to the ice surface with samples of melted water from the basal ice.
Laura Piho, Andreas Alexander, and Maarja Kruusmaa
The Cryosphere, 16, 3669–3683, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3669-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3669-2022, 2022
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In this study we develop a novel method to map subsurface water flow paths and spatially reference in situ data from such environments. We demonstrate the feasibility of our method with the reconstruction of the flow path of an englacial channel and the water pressures therein. Our method opens up for direct mapping of subsurface water flow paths, not only in glacier hydrology but also in other applications (e.g., karst caves, pipelines, sewer systems).
Jan Nitzbon, Damir Gadylyaev, Steffen Schlüter, John Maximilian Köhne, Guido Grosse, and Julia Boike
The Cryosphere, 16, 3507–3515, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3507-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3507-2022, 2022
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The microstructure of permafrost soils contains clues to its formation and its preconditioning to future change. We used X-ray computed tomography (CT) to measure the composition of a permafrost drill core from Siberia. By combining CT with laboratory measurements, we determined the the proportions of pore ice, excess ice, minerals, organic matter, and gas contained in the core at an unprecedented resolution. Our work demonstrates the potential of CT to study permafrost properties and processes.
Maxime Beaudoin-Galaise and Sylvain Jutras
The Cryosphere, 16, 3199–3214, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3199-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3199-2022, 2022
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Our study presents an analysis of the uncertainty and measurement error of manual measurement methods of the snow water equivalent (SWE). Snow pit and snow sampler measurements were taken during five consecutive winters. Our results show that, although the snow pit is considered a SWE reference in the literature, it is a method with higher uncertainty and measurement error than large diameter samplers, considered according to our results as the most appropriate reference in a boreal biome.
Rebecca Gugerli, Darin Desilets, and Nadine Salzmann
The Cryosphere, 16, 799–806, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-799-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-799-2022, 2022
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Monitoring the snow water equivalent (SWE) in high mountain regions is highly important and a challenge. We explore the use of muon counts to infer SWE temporally continuously. We deployed muonic cosmic ray snow gauges (µ-CRSG) on a Swiss glacier over the winter 2020/21. Evaluated with manual SWE measurements and SWE estimates inferred from neutron counts, we conclude that the µ-CRSG is a highly promising method for remote high mountain regions with several advantages over other current methods.
Baptiste Dafflon, Stijn Wielandt, John Lamb, Patrick McClure, Ian Shirley, Sebastian Uhlemann, Chen Wang, Sylvain Fiolleau, Carlotta Brunetti, Franklin H. Akins, John Fitzpatrick, Samuel Pullman, Robert Busey, Craig Ulrich, John Peterson, and Susan S. Hubbard
The Cryosphere, 16, 719–736, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-719-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-719-2022, 2022
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This study presents the development and validation of a novel acquisition system for measuring finely resolved depth profiles of soil and snow temperature at multiple locations. Results indicate that the system reliably captures the dynamics in snow thickness, as well as soil freezing and thawing depth, enabling advances in understanding the intensity and timing in surface processes and their impact on subsurface thermohydrological regimes.
Achille Capelli, Franziska Koch, Patrick Henkel, Markus Lamm, Florian Appel, Christoph Marty, and Jürg Schweizer
The Cryosphere, 16, 505–531, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-505-2022, 2022
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Snow occurrence, snow amount, snow density and liquid water content (LWC) can vary considerably with climatic conditions and elevation. We show that low-cost Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensors as GPS can be used for reliably measuring the amount of water stored in the snowpack or snow water equivalent (SWE), snow depth and the LWC under a broad range of climatic conditions met at different elevations in the Swiss Alps.
Anton Jitnikovitch, Philip Marsh, Branden Walker, and Darin Desilets
The Cryosphere, 15, 5227–5239, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5227-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5227-2021, 2021
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Conventional methods used to measure snow have many limitations which hinder our ability to document annual cycles, test predictive models, or analyze the impact of climate change. A modern snow measurement method using in situ cosmic ray neutron sensors demonstrates the capability of continuously measuring spatially variable snowpacks with considerable accuracy. These sensors can provide important data for testing models, validating remote sensing, and water resource management applications.
Alain Royer, Alexandre Roy, Sylvain Jutras, and Alexandre Langlois
The Cryosphere, 15, 5079–5098, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5079-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5079-2021, 2021
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Dense spatially distributed networks of autonomous instruments for continuously measuring the amount of snow on the ground are needed for operational water resource and flood management and the monitoring of northern climate change. Four new-generation non-invasive sensors are compared. A review of their advantages, drawbacks and accuracy is discussed. This performance analysis is intended to help researchers and decision-makers choose the one system that is best suited to their needs.
Christophe Perron, Christian Katlein, Simon Lambert-Girard, Edouard Leymarie, Louis-Philippe Guinard, Pierre Marquet, and Marcel Babin
The Cryosphere, 15, 4483–4500, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4483-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4483-2021, 2021
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Characterizing the evolution of inherent optical properties (IOPs) of sea ice in situ is necessary to improve climate and arctic ecosystem models. Here we present the development of an optical probe, based on the spatially resolved diffuse reflectance method, to measure IOPs of a small volume of sea ice (dm3) in situ and non-destructively. For the first time, in situ vertically resolved profiles of the dominant IOP, the reduced scattering coefficient, were obtained for interior sea ice.
Ghislain Picard, Marie Dumont, Maxim Lamare, François Tuzet, Fanny Larue, Roberta Pirazzini, and Laurent Arnaud
The Cryosphere, 14, 1497–1517, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1497-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1497-2020, 2020
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Surface albedo is an essential variable of snow-covered areas. The measurement of this variable over a tilted terrain with levelled sensors is affected by artefacts that need to be corrected. Here we develop a theory of spectral albedo measurement over slopes from which we derive four correction algorithms. The comparison to in situ measurements taken in the Alps shows the adequacy of the theory, and the application of the algorithms shows systematic improvements.
Stephan Gruber
The Cryosphere, 14, 1437–1447, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1437-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1437-2020, 2020
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A simple method to record heave and subsidence of the land surface at specific field locations is described. Hourly observations from three sites, over two winters and one summer, are analyzed and discussed. The data are rich in features that point to the influence of freezing and thawing and of wetting and drying of the soil. This type of observation may offer new insight into the processes of heat and mass transfer in soil and help to monitor climate change impacts.
Andreas Alexander, Maarja Kruusmaa, Jeffrey A. Tuhtan, Andrew J. Hodson, Thomas V. Schuler, and Andreas Kääb
The Cryosphere, 14, 1009–1023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1009-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1009-2020, 2020
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This work shows the potential of pressure and inertia sensing drifters to measure flow parameters along glacial channels. The technology allows us to record the spatial distribution of water pressures, as well as an estimation of the flow velocity along the flow path in the channels. The measurements show a high repeatability and the potential to identify channel morphology from sensor readings.
Rebecca Gugerli, Nadine Salzmann, Matthias Huss, and Darin Desilets
The Cryosphere, 13, 3413–3434, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3413-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3413-2019, 2019
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The snow water equivalent (SWE) in high mountain regions is crucial for many applications. Yet its quantification remains difficult. We present autonomous daily SWE observations by a cosmic ray sensor (CRS) deployed on a Swiss glacier for two winter seasons. Combined with snow depth observations, we derive the daily bulk snow density. The validation with manual field observations and its measurement reliability show that the CRS is a promising device for high alpine cryospheric environments.
Adam Schneider, Mark Flanner, Roger De Roo, and Alden Adolph
The Cryosphere, 13, 1753–1766, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1753-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-1753-2019, 2019
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To study the process of snow aging, we engineered a prototype instrument called the Near-Infrared Emitting and Reflectance-Monitoring Dome (NERD). Using the NERD, we observed rapid snow aging in experiments with added light absorbing particles (LAPs). Particulate matter deposited on the snow increased absorption of solar energy and enhanced snow melt. These results indicate the role of LAPs' indirect effect on snow aging through a positive feedback mechanism related to the snow grain size.
Thomas R. Chudley, Poul Christoffersen, Samuel H. Doyle, Antonio Abellan, and Neal Snooke
The Cryosphere, 13, 955–968, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-955-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-955-2019, 2019
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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly common tools in the geosciences, but their use requires good ground control in order to make accurate georeferenced models. This is difficult in applications such as glaciology, where access to study sites can be hazardous. We show that a new technique utilising on-board GPS post-processing can match and even improve on ground-control-based methods, and, as a result, can produce accurate glacier velocity fields even on an inland ice sheet.
Ladina Steiner, Michael Meindl, Charles Fierz, and Alain Geiger
The Cryosphere, 12, 3161–3175, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3161-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3161-2018, 2018
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The amount of water stored in snow cover is of high importance for flood risks, climate change, and early-warning systems. We evaluate the potential of using GPS to estimate the stored water. We use GPS antennas buried underneath the snowpack and develop a model based on the path elongation of the GPS signals while propagating through the snowpack. The method works well over full seasons, including melt periods. Results correspond within 10 % to the state-of-the-art reference data.
Ian M. Howat, Santiago de la Peña, Darin Desilets, and Gary Womack
The Cryosphere, 12, 2099–2108, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2099-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-2099-2018, 2018
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In this paper we present the first application of cosmic ray neutron sensing for continuously measuring in situ accumulation on an ice sheet. We validate these results with manual snow coring and snow stake measurements, showing that the cosmic ray observations are of similar if not better accuracy. We also present our observations of variability in accumulation over 24 months at Summit Camp, Greenland. We conclude that cosmic ray sensing has a high potential for measuring surface mass balance.
Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Jean-Michel Panel, and Samuel Morin
The Cryosphere, 10, 1495–1511, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1495-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1495-2016, 2016
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A cost-effective automatic laser scan has been built to measure snow depth spatio-temporal variations. Deployed in the Alps and in Dome C (Antarctica), two devices acquired daily scans covering a surface area of 100–150 m2. The precision and long-term stability of the measurements are about 1 cm and the accuracy is better than 5 cm. These high performances are particularly suited at Dome C, where it was possible to reveal that most of the accumulation in the year 2015 stems from a single event.
Martin Proksch, Nick Rutter, Charles Fierz, and Martin Schneebeli
The Cryosphere, 10, 371–384, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-371-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-371-2016, 2016
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Density is a fundamental property of porous media such as snow. During the MicroSnow Davos 2014 workshop, different approaches (box-, wedge- and cylinder-type density cutters, micro-computed tomography) to measure snow density were applied in a controlled laboratory environment and in the field. In general, results suggest that snow densities measured by different methods agree within 9 %. However, the density profiles resolved by the measurement methods differed considerably.
C. Shea, B. Jamieson, and K. W. Birkeland
The Cryosphere, 6, 287–299, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-287-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-6-287-2012, 2012
S. Kaasalainen, H. Kaartinen, A. Kukko, K. Anttila, and A. Krooks
The Cryosphere, 5, 135–138, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-135-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-135-2011, 2011
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Short summary
One of the objectives of the WMO Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment (SPICE) was to assess the performance of automated instruments that measure snow water equivalent and make recommendations on the best measurement practices and data interpretation. This study assesses the Campbell Scientific CS725 and the Sommer SSG100 for measuring SWE. Different measurement principals of the instruments as well as site characteristics influence the way that the SWE data should be interpreted.
One of the objectives of the WMO Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment (SPICE) was to...
